China CDC and RIVM Sign MoU to Deepen Practical Bilateral Public Health Cooperation

On the morning of May 25, 2026, Wang Jianwei, Director-General of  China CDC, met with a Dutch public health delegation. The delegation was led by Professor Menno de Jong, Director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Control at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Delegation members came from RIVM, Municipal Public Health Service Utrecht, Maastricht University, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China, among other institutions. The two sides exchanged views on the outcomes of bilateral cooperation, the global public health situation, and future cooperation priorities.

Director-General Wang welcomed the Dutch delegation. He reviewed cooperation between the two sides in recent years, noting that China and the Netherlands have built a solid foundation for public health cooperation and maintained close exchanges. He said the visit offered a good opportunity to further strengthen cooperation. He expressed the hope that both sides would deepen cooperation, draw on each other’s strengths, and contribute to the health of the peoples of both countries and to the building of a global community of health for all. Director-General Wang also briefed the delegation on the development of China CDC. He said China CDC is continuing to improve its surveillance and early warning network for infectious diseases and public health, strengthen its capacity for public health emergency response, and advance the modernisation of the disease control and prevention system.

Director-General Wang and Professor Menno de Jong, the authorised representative of RIVM, formally signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between China CDC and RIVM. The MoU identifies ten key areas for deeper cooperation, including the prevention and control of infectious diseases, the prevention and control of chronic diseases, and health promotion. Its signing marks a new stage of more systematic and in-depth development in public health cooperation between China and the Netherlands. Building on the MoU, the two sides will draw on complementary strengths, work together on key challenges, and turn cooperation plans into concrete results.

Professor Menno de Jong said the signing of the MoU confirmed the achievements made through years of cooperation between the two sides. He said the Dutch side fully recognises China’s important role and sense of responsibility in global public health governance. He also spoke highly of the solid, efficient and fruitful cooperation built by both sides over the years. He expressed the hope that, through a regular exchange mechanism, the two sides would continue to deepen coordination and learn from each other.

In response to current global emerging outbreaks such as hantavirus and Ebola virus, as well as the risk of cross-border outbreak clusters, the two sides focused their discussion on cross-border public health prevention and control and reached several points of consensus on cooperation.

During their stay in China, the Dutch delegation also attended a One Health seminar and visited provincial-level disease control and prevention institutions for study and exchange.